Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1940: <\/strong>A\u00a0United Airlines DC-3,<\/a> laden with ice on its windshield and wings, stalled and crashed into a house at 6350 S. Keating Ave. on its second landing attempt at now-Midway International Airport, killing 10. It\u2019s believed to be the first commercial airplane crash in the city.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Plane crashes that stunned our city<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The crash caused the Civil Aeronautics Board to recommend that stall-warning devices be installed on airplanes to let pilots know when they are going too slow to stay aloft and to urge research into ways to reduce icing.<\/p>\n 1969:<\/strong> Police raided a two-flat at 2337 W. Monroe St. \u2014 Illinois\u2019 Black Panther Party stronghold \u2014 killing party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark<\/a>.<\/p>\n Officially, the Cook County state\u2019s attorney\u2019s 4:30 a.m. raid by 14 Chicago police officers began as the execution of a search warrant to turn up weapons and explosives that the feared black power group was supposedly hoarding inside.<\/p>\n Column: 50 years later, it\u2019s easier to see how the Black Panther raid changed racial politics<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Survivors described a far more frightening scene: Officers armed with shotguns and rifles opening fire<\/a> on sleeping Black Panther members inside, among them Hampton\u2019s pregnant fiancee. A special federal grand jury determined that police sprayed 82 to 99 gunshots<\/a> through doors, walls and windows, while just one shot appeared to have been fired by someone inside.<\/p>\n 2008:<\/strong> Mayor Richard M. Daley struck a deal to close a budget shortfall \u2014 the city got a paltry $1.16 billion upfront in return for a 75-year lease of Chicago\u2019s paid street parking system to Chicago Parking Meters (CPM). Nearly all of the one-time windfall would be spent by the time Daley handed over the reins to Mayor Rahm Emanuel.<\/p>\n The contract required the city to drastically raise rates<\/a>\u00a0on behalf of the company.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: 10 biggest bummers in 100 years of city history<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Chicago\u2019s\u00a0inspector general<\/a>\u00a0confirmed in 2019 that the city had sold out for far less than the lease\u2019s value. A report by Bloomberg Business said CPM stood to earn about\u00a010 times\u00a0what it paid over the life of the contract.<\/p>\n \u201cAny way you slice it financially,\u00a0Chicago got taken to the cleaners<\/a>,\u201d the Tribune Editorial Board wrote in 2023.<\/p>\n 2020:<\/strong> Longtime 10th Ward Ald. Edward \u201cFast Eddie\u201d Vrdolyak was sentenced to 10 months<\/a> in prison after pleading guilty the previous year to conspiring to commit mail fraud in a scheme to collect a $1.5 million fee when Rosalind Franklin University went to sell a Gold Coast property.<\/p>\n The Dishonor Roll: Chicago officials<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Vrdolyak served about five months<\/a>\u00a0of an\u00a018-month sentence<\/a>\u00a0for a 2019\u00a0guilty plea<\/a>\u00a0to a tax charge alleging he obstructed an IRS investigation into payments to and from a friend and associate related to the state\u2019s\u00a0$9.2 billion settlement<\/a>\u00a0with tobacco companies in the late 1990s.<\/p>\n Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n Subscribe to the free\u00a0Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\n
![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-1940-crash-CT0136493421.jpg\")
On Dec. 4, 1940, a United Airlines plane crashed while trying to land at Chicago Airport, now known as Midway Airport. Ten people died in the crash, including the pilot, Phil Scott, and the co-pilot, George Young. The roof of a house near 64th Street and Kilpatrick Avenue was damaged by the plane. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ctc-226756669.jpg\")
A crowd forms in front of the Black Panthers headquarters at 2337 W. Monroe St. as the grand jury heads into the apartment on Jan. 8, 1970. Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in a shootout at the apartment on Dec. 4, 1969. (Arthur Walker\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTC-L-MAYOR-DALEY-PARKING-CT0135891591.jpg\")
Mayor Richard M. Daley defends the city’s action to privatize parking meters following a meeting at City Hall in Chicago on June 3, 2009. (Kuni Takahashi\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ctc-l-edward-vrdolyak-2009-1.jpg\")
Former Ald. Edward Vrdolyak talks with reporters as he leaves the the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Feb. 26, 2009, in Chicago. Vrdolyak was sentenced to five years probation for his role in a $1.5 million kickback scheme. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n